


So Pinch Me Quick

by DaintyDuck_99



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Bisexual Nick (Julie and The Phantoms), Bisexual Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Good Friend Julie Molina, High School Musical References, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Strangers to Lovers, Teen Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Twilight References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29376438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaintyDuck_99/pseuds/DaintyDuck_99
Summary: When Nick finally breaks up with Carrie at the dance, it’s mostly for the reasons that he should’ve done it ages ago, and that’s what he says to her, but he’s not entirely honest.It’s not like he can tell her that he’s attracted to a different sort of flame: one so gentle that it has no name, all comfort and tenderness curling under his ribs, a presence that’s starting to feel like a part of him.Is it possible to catch feelings for an unusually considerate patch of air?
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson (mentioned), Nick & Carrie Wilson, Nick & Julie Molina, Nick/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 86





	So Pinch Me Quick

Nick isn’t clumsy, per se. He plays lacrosse, for pete’s sake. No, it’s more like he lacks spacial awareness, sometimes. Namely, when he forgets to wear his contacts. 

He can usually get away with sneaking his glasses on in the back row of history or math, but when it comes to English, science, or music class, he squints and inches closer to the board. 

Maybe it’s silly, but when Nick can truly see people, they can see him just as clearly, exposed in his plain wire frames, blatantly boring. 

Carrie lends him sparks, crackling with the flare of neon skirts and amplified gasps and words and showering him in borrowed flames, but her embers sting a little too much to sit comfortably under Nick’s skin.

So he dons the contacts as much as possible and tries to shove his insecurities deep down under his responsibilities, but no one is as perfect as they pretend to be, and sometimes he’s too tired, or he’s running late, or he forgets. 

Around the time that Julie gets her hologram band, though, and Carrie’s flames become fiercer, he acquires a guardian angel. Nick starts having fewer accidents on those days. 

The platform in the music room is rickety, and frankly, a bit ableist in its construction. He wouldn’t be the first or last person to stumble over the edge of it—except he doesn’t fall. 

Before Nick can face plant into the tiled floor, several things happen. His upper arms are met with a tingly resistance, suspending him. Several people exclaim, and Julie upends the piano bench. She makes a beeline for him, grabbing his hands. Carrie glares, mouth twisted in a pout. 

Julie lets go as soon as he is back on solid ground. He rubs his arms a few times, but the strange sensation had disappeared when Julie touched him. 

“Thank you?” 

Nick doesn’t mean for it to come out as a question, but he knows that Julie hadn’t been quick enough. She nods vigorously, which only adds to his suspicion.

“Yeah, yes, of course. I’m glad you’re okay!” 

“Well—” 

“What was I supposed to do?” she cuts him off in a hiss and a glance to his left. 

Nick blinks several times, feeling very much like he’s back in theatre rehearsal and someone’s missed their cue, except he’s only had time to skim his lines and he’s running on the fumes of Ms. Darbus’ coffee and that person might’ve been him. 

Julie holds her hands up in a silent appeal as other students start to swarm around them and out of the classroom. 

“Sorry! Sometimes I talk to myself now, ever since, you know…” 

Nick scratches at the nape of his neck, totally unprepared for the new and unspoken subject.

“It’s all good. Crisis averted, right?” 

He pastes on his easy-going jock smile, which is easy to do after two years. Her eyes flick to the right this time, but at least she smiles back. 

“Yeah. We’d better get to class.” 

With a final awkward nod and a little wave, she jogs out of the room. Thankfully, it seems that Carrie decided not to wait up for either of them. 

Once he’s alone in the classroom, he says it again with more conviction.

“Thanks, angel.” 

Sure, he could be imagining things, but—if someone is looking out for him, it’s best to repay kindness with kindness, right?

Besides, he swears that he hears a twang from the stringed instruments section after he does it. 

A much more comfortable smile graces Nick’s lips as he heads to his next class. 

After that, more and more little miracles pile up, making bad days better and good days great. Lockers close and chairs scoot out of his way when he’s distracted or somewhat blind. Pencils jump into his empty hands and doors open for his full ones. 

Once, while he’s struggling to make out his English teacher’s chicken scratch on the board even as he squints, a sheet of notes slides under his arm, and warmth blooms in his shoulder. 

He doesn’t recognize the handwriting, not that he expected to. The letters are slanted, but legible.

Next to one of his vocabulary words, ‘salacious,’ they’ve written:

“Boring SAT word :( just say lewd or even obscene, how old is this lady?” 

He has to smother a laugh in the collar of his letterman’s jacket. 

Aside from cheeky commentary, there are useful sentence diagrams that actually break down the material more than Mrs. Estevez ever has. 

Is it possible to catch feelings for a funny and thoughtful patch of air? 

If they are an angel, he guesses, they’re probably either gorgeous or a terrifying mass of eyes, so maybe it’s better that he doesn’t know what they look like. 

Nick always says thanks, even if he has to say it very quietly because Carrie is nearby. He leaves a few notes in his locker, and they vanish, but he never gets another one. He hopes they didn’t get in trouble with some kind of supernatural council. 

Yeah, he isn’t sure if he regrets watching _Twilight_ or not. Whoever’s helping him doesn’t seem to be stalking him, as the miracles only happen at school, so there’s that. 

When Nick finally breaks up with Carrie at the dance, it’s mostly for the reasons that he should’ve done it ages ago, and that’s what he says to her, but he’s not entirely honest. 

It’s not like he can tell her that he’s attracted to a different sort of flame: one so gentle that it has no name, all comfort and tenderness curling under his ribs, a presence that’s starting to feel like a part of him. They lack all of her scalding fierceness, and it’s a reprieve.

He and Carrie never really fit the way everyone expected them to, but Nick hopes that he and this mystery person who already makes him like himself more will.

His angel doesn’t seem to be at the dance, and he’s just as disappointed about that as he is for Julie, what with her holograms still not showing up. As Carrie herds Julie’s audience out of the gymnasium, Nick knows that he made the right choice by ending things with her.

The jury’s still out on developing a crush on a faceless person, though. 

Nick asks Julie to be his study partner not long after. He’s not a total idiot—whoever he’s glimpsing, she seems to be able to interact with them, too. It might even have something to do with her “holograms,” but he’s not entirely confident in that part of the theory. 

They haven’t had a chance to talk about it, and Nick still only notices his angel at school, so...it’s probably dumb, but in all of his daydreams, she properly introduces the two of them back at the dance, and they blink into view to whisk him away. 

Usually, they’re a tall boy with tousled black-brown-blonde locks and a dark gaze that glitters with all of the colors of the northern lights. He’s a little stuck on the idea that they might be one of her bandmates, so his mystery person tends to flicker between their features.

They’re always grinning, though. 

He’s so caught up in his reverie that Julie has to turn him down twice, which is a little embarrassing. The worst part is when she misinterprets his words.

“Can we please just talk?” he begs. “It’s important.” 

They’re both looking all around more so than at each other. She bites her lip, but a sigh escapes, anyway.

“I’m sorry, but I really like someone else,” Julie admits.

Oh, god. Do they like the same person? How did he miss that possibility? He doesn’t stand a chance if Julie Molina is his competition. Nick would probably be interested in her too if he didn’t have this interesting little mystery relationship, already. 

“So do I...” he mumbles. 

“What was that?” she inquires politely. 

Nick clears his throat. 

He’s being ridiculous. The floppy haired guitarist is obviously infatuated with Julie, so Nick’s crush is probably one of her other bandmates. 

“I’m, uh, also interested in someone else. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” 

Something like understanding flickers behind her eyes, and his heart surges. 

“Okay. I think I know what you mean? Just, give me a little time to prepare so you don’t think I’m crazy. Like, at least a day or two.” 

He bounces on his toes like he’s about to make the lacrosse goal of the century, beaming.

“You’re the best, Julie. Thank you.” 

She rolls her eyes, but he gets the sense that it’s not directed at him. 

“You all are so welcome.” 

As Nick goes to walk away, a tickle sweeps against his cheek, and his pulse flutters as he pictures a pair of smiling lips being pressed there. 

He can’t wait to meet the boy behind them. 

It never occurred to Nick that those invisible touches could make him cold, fuse his bones into a prison for his soul. Apparently, the intent of a ghost matters. It’s no longer a mystery, not entirely. Caleb likes to boast, and Nick is powerless to do anything but listen. 

He doesn’t know what Julie does, but when he can use his eyes again, she and four other boys are huddled around him in a tight circle. Three are her bandmates, and one is a complete stranger to Nick. He’s still shivering, Nick realizes absently. Still a bit numb. 

The dark-haired boy with a penchant for wearing flannels—the bassist—grasps his shoulders, and a familiar comfort flood’s Nick’s body. He gasps, shakily reaching up to cradle his face.

He only has two eyes, and they _are_ gorgeous, the gossamer green of a butterfly’s wing, extra shiny where they’re wet. 

“It’s you,” Nick whispers, voice laced with wonder, “you’re my angel.” 

A pink flush threatens to cascade down the bassist’s cheeks along with his tears, but he manages to smile. 

“Reggie Peters at your service,” he says, and it’s the most melodic thing that Nick’s ever heard come out of his mouth. 

“You guys saved me,” he breathes. 

“Thank you. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble because I’m really not worth it.” 

Reggie launches himself into Nick’s arms, forcing him to relocate his hands, and he grasps the back of Reggie’s flannel. If he’d thought he was blanketed in warmth before, it’s nothing compared to this. 

“Don’t you dare say that, Nick Danforth-Evans. Don’t you ever say that. You are honest, respectful, humble, funny, sweet, talented, and kind. You paid attention to me, man! You made me feel cherished when you couldn’t even see me. That’s pretty special, I think.” 

“Speaking of seeing,” Julie’s guitarist speaks up, “I kind of had to smack you to knock your glasses off of your face so we could beat Caleb. Um, sorry.” 

Oh. Nick’s face does feel a little sore, but he’d chalked it up to post-possession. To the other boy’s credit, he does sound sincere. 

“I still don’t think you had to do it quite that hard,” the blonde drummer mumbles. 

“Wait, here…” 

Reggie unravels himself from around Nick to fumble for something in his shirt. He takes out Nick’s glasses, which he then wipes on his flannel before carefully sliding them over his nose. His smile is larger this time, revealing a set of endearingly crooked teeth. 

“There you are,” he whispers, and Nick has never been more glad to be noticed in his life. 

“Here we are,” he corrects, surging forward to seal the deal with a kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> The title for this story comes from [Mint Car](https://open.spotify.com/track/7qq2OOmApODpp23lPP7ds1?si=FQlNFfHSTCyCeTEcjUL3Iw) by The Cure! It's a very cute and sweet song. :) 
> 
> I do get the sense that ghosts can sometimes touch people if they're not really thinking that they shouldn't be able to, like the few times when Luke and Julie are able to hug before the finale. 
> 
> I think I actually sold myself on this pairing, lol. I love the idea that while Julie and Nick are dancing together, they're both actaully daydreaming about the members Sunset Curve.
> 
> Also, everyone who read this before I fixed the spacing is a saint.


End file.
